


Klance AU Month 2019

by lulumina



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Pirate, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 21:46:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17754062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lulumina/pseuds/lulumina
Summary: A place where I'll be posting the assorted prompts I use from #KlanceAUMonth!I'll update the tags and summary each time I post.Enjoy!!Day 11: Historical





	Klance AU Month 2019

**Author's Note:**

> day 11: historical 
> 
> for this oneshot, I chose to write a pirate au!! i imagine this is set in the late 1700s. i've always wanted to write klance as swashbucklers, so this was the perfect opportunity to do it!!
> 
> hope you enjoy!

Cannon smoke and bloodthirsty shouts spread through the air as a brutal battle raged on the deck of the White Lion. 

Shiro was caught in crossed cutlasses with an enemy pirate, arms holding strong as he pushed his assailant backward across the deck. Allura had her own cutlass out, slashing through enemies as they dropped like flies. Even Romelle was part of the fight, quickly swooping in to stab foes with her bone-carved dagger before flitting off to the shadows. 

Keith broke out of a head-on duel with a buff swordswoman to survey the ropes above his head. 

Where was Lance? He was a strong swordsman, and an even stronger marksman, but Keith couldn’t spot him shooting from the crow’s nest or anywhere in the rigging. 

_ He’s probably snoozing down in the bunks… that man sleeps sounder than a stuffed bilge rat. An entire ship full of raging carausers couldn’t pull him out of bed.  _

A sudden blade at his throat pulled Keith out of his thoughts, accompanied by a foul hiss in his ear. 

“Any last words, mate?” the pirate drawled, pressing the blade deeper into his windpipe. 

With a swift kick to the crotch, Keith’s opposer crumpled.

“Only my boyfriend is allowed to touch my neck and get away with it.” he growled. He left the man whimpering on the deck and surveyed the rest of the battle from his outlook at the helm.

Allura and Shiro seemed to be doing fine on the spar deck, and it looked like Adam was on his way to assist them after clearing his share of enemies. He caught sight of a flash of long blonde hair before it disappeared behind the mast. Romelle must be doing alright for herself, then. Matt and Pidge were caught in their own battles, cutlasses clashing furiously, and Hunk was manning the cannons below, but they would be alright.

Making sure no one was preparing to ambush him, Keith raced down to the rigging and made his way up. He wasn’t as nimble at this as Lance was, but he climbed mostly without struggle. Where would his help be most appreciated? Most everyone seemed to be doing okay, and the battle was almost over. The crew of the White Lion was winning, or so it seemed.

Suddenly, Keith spotted Romelle cornered by two pirates with their swords drawn. She was making a valiant effort, a snarl on her face with her dagger brandished menacingly, but a little dagger was nothing against two razor sharp cutlasses. She needed assistance. 

Keith swore. Acting quickly, he seized a loose rope, steeled his nerves, and jumped. He landed with a stumble behind Romelle’s attackers.

“Surrender or die,” he said, drawing his cutlass. The two pirates whipped around and sneered, but their faces lightened considerably when they caught sight of something behind Keith. 

Keith was about to brush it off as a trick, the oldest one of the book. However, seeing Romelle’s face morph into one of fear rather than bold aggression confirmed the worst of his fears. 

“I reckon I could ask ye the same thing, lad,” a gruff voice chuckled darkly. Keith slowly turned to meet the captain of the Vrepit Sa, a towering man swollen with muscles named Sendak the Fierce. A tailored eyepatch sat secure on his right eye. The man had two brilliantly violet feathers curling around his tricorne hat in such a way it appeared he had ears. A tangled beard scruffed down his jawline. One could compare him to a massive cat who had found a way to stand on hind legs and bear a cutlass. Paired with his crookedly sharp teeth and a wicked grin, Sendak looked downright animalistic. 

Keith swallowed his fear and scowled. “Ahoy. What can I do ya for?”

“Don’ play the fool with me, Kogane. Where’s the bayard?”

Keith painted a look of complete innocence onto his face. “What bayard?”  _ Stall, stall, buy time for the rest of them to get the blazes over here and help me out.  _ A little voice in his head told him his crewmates were too occupied in their own battles to assist him. 

This must have been Sendak’s plan all along- secure the ship, distract the crew, ambush Keith. Of course. He knew Keith best, after all. 

Sendak breathed in through his nose and glanced behind Keith. “Secure the wench and the lad.”

The two pirates grabbed her arms and kicked her dagger out of her hand, while another secured Keith.

“Oi, who’re you calling wench?” Romelle protested, struggling against their iron grips. The lady pirate at her left arm clamped a hand on her mouth in an attempt to muffle her complaints. Romelle clearly wasn’t having any of that. 

“ _ Ow _ ! The lass  _ bit _ me!” The woman buccaneer shouted from behind Keith.

“It’s what you  _ deserve _ , you bilge-sucking, hornswaggling, rat-eating-”

“Shut ‘er up already!” Sendak barked, and the other pirate shoved a greasy cloth in her mouth.

“Now, back to business,” Sendak sighed. “Where were we? Ah, yes. The bayard. Where is it?”

“I told you,” Keith insisted. “I don’t know what bayard you’re talking about.”

“You’re trying my patience, boy!” Sendak growled. “I’ll ask ye one last time.” He slowly drew his cutlass, light from the evening sun glinting wickedly on the polished blade. “Where is the Golden Bayard?” With each word, the captain took another step toward Keith. On the final syllable, he pressed the point of his sword under Keith’s chin. 

“Up your arse and to the left,” Keith spat, edging his jaw from the blade. 

“Why, you insolent-” 

Sendak was interrupted by a pirate jogging up with her cutlass in hand. “Captain! We seized the crew. The captain is confined to her quarters. Our crew has secured the vessel.”

Sendak collected himself and sneered. “Excellent. Now, Keith Kogane… your crew is captured. Your ship is being looted as we speak. Finally, the bilge rat I’ve been searching for for ten years is under me thumb,” He cracked a crooked grin. “I remember when you were a wee cabin boy servin’ on me ship… shame you found the need to abandon me for that weakling friend of yours.” 

Sendak was always one for dramatic speeches. Hell, he described Keith’s death in brutal detail every day upon the Vrepit Sa, promising to act it out when the next sun rose. Just another scare tactic that Keith never fell for. 

As Sendak monologued, Keith caught sight of a pair of familiar light brown hands peeking out over the railing, followed by a head of curly brown hair. 

_ I guess Lance wasn’t sleeping below decks after all. _

Keith fixed his attention back to Sendak. Lance obviously had a plan, why else would he be hanging out on the ship railing?

“Well, yeh’ll be payin’ quite soon. Quite soon, indeed.”

Tracking Lance through his peripheral vision, Keith stalled for time. 

“I was right to leave your nasty ship, and you know it, Sendak,” he bit. From somewhere on the deck, there was a quiet thump. Sendak must not have suspected anything, because he kept his attention trained on his captive. 

“I’m the one talkin’ right now, swab. Watch yerself.” Two more thuds. Wow, Lance was making quick work. 

“Anyway. I’m feelin’ merciful, so I’m gonna let yeh choose the way I kill yeh. Sound good, lad?”

“How very generous,” Keith mocked, as another thud sounded behind the Captain. He caught a glance of Lance pressing something over the mouth of the pirate holding Pidge, after which the pirate crumpled with another thunk. 

Sendak may not have noticed what was going on, but the pirate holding Keith was confused by the racket on the deck. “Uh. Captain?”

“Hush, man.”

“But, Captain, the-”

“I said shut yer trap! Whatever it is can wait.”

Keith smiled to himself. Thank the heavens for self-centered captains with anger issues- you could always rely on them to ignore the better warnings of their crew. 

Sendak flashed his mouth of crooked yellow teeth and leaned in close to Keith’s face. His breath reeked of dung and dead fish, and Keith was quite sure his eyebrows burnt off from the stench. 

“Alright, boy. I can either cleave ya to the brisket, ye can feed the fishes with a weight tied to yer leg, or my crew and I can keelhaul yer sorry bum. What’ll it be?” Sendak cackled as he imagined the outcomes.

“Captain, what about the fourth option?” Keith asked innocently.

“What’re yeh playing at, bilge rat? There is no fourth option.” 

“Oh, there isn’t? Because I was quite sure the fourth option is where my boyfriend kicks your arse and sends you runnin’ home to your mum.”

Sendak recoiled. “What d’yeh mean, yer-” Before he could finish, he received a swift kick straight to the chest from a flying Lance, who landed nimbly by Keith’s side. While Sendak was distracted, Keith took the opportunity to knock out the pirate holding back his arms. Lance turned to face the two foes still holding back a fired up Romelle. Lance put on a fake pout and shook his head. 

“Now, that’s no way to treat a lady, you should be ashamed of yourself!” Lance scolded, brandishing his cutlass. 

With a flash of his wrist, the first pirate’s cutlass clattered against the deck, followed quickly by the second. Lance kicked them behind him. 

“If you know what’s good for you… you’ll go back to your own ship and leave this poor little medic girl alone.”

Clearly outnumbered, the assailants couldn’t scramble away fast enough. 

Romelle snatched the cloth from her mouth and tossed it to the side. “‘Poor little medic girl?’” She huffed. “Really?”

“Aw, Rom, you know I think you’re the fiercest medic on the seven seas. No pirate stands a chance against you and your dagger,” Lance bent to retrieve the dagger from the deck, making a show of dusting it off and presenting it to her. She grabbed it and stuck it into her belt, patting it happily. Keith watched the whole exchange with a small smile. Behind the group, Sendak struggled to get up as the air returned to his lungs. 

“Surrender… idiots… it’s  _ hopeless _ ,” he growled. 

Lance strode over to the struggling captain and pressed his cutlass to Sendak’s throat. 

“Not so fast, matey…” Lance clucked.” You’ll find our situation isn’t so hopeless after all.” He flashed a smirk at Keith. “Ahoy, Scurvy Dog. Care to do the honors?” He winked to let Keith know he wasn’t actually planning to kill the man. 

“Certainly, my good fellow,” Keith drew his own cutlass and lined it up with Lance’s. “Any last words?”

Sendak gasped throatily. “Please… No… remember how well I cared for you on the Vrepit Sa… you were like a son to me, boy! You wouldn’t kill your father figure, would you?”

Keith scoffed. “I hardly knew my real father, and he was still a thousand times better than you’ll ever be.”

Sendak grew desperate. “I’ll give you anything. Anything! Jewels, gold, cocoa, name your price! My life is too precious to give up, please!”

“My Lord, d’you hear him gripe?” Lance laughed. “Calm down. We’re just runnin’ a rig. Aye, I think this is the first time he’s ever begged in his life!”

“Now. We’re gonna let you up. You’d better order your crew back onto your ship and cut the grapples. Got it?” Keith said. 

Sendak nodded slowly, rising to his knees. He raised his hands above his head, but then quickly reached for the dagger in his belt.

_ Bang _ ! Gunsmoke rose from behind him, and out strode Captain Allura. She tucked her pistol into its holster and placed her hands upon her hips. “Was planning to do that even before he tried to slice you. His whining was gettin’ mighty annoying. The wound is barely deep, he’ll survive. Until then…” With seemingly superhuman strength, Allura hoisted Sendak up by the frills of his collar and turned to face the remaining pirates, most being held by the crew of the White Lion. “Listen up, lubbers! If my ship isn’t empty by the time I get to ten, I’m gunning down each and every one a’ ya. And I promise I won’t be so careful to aim for a non-lethal body part. One!”

The response was immediate. Every single pirate scurried in a mad rush to the planks and grapples connecting the two ships, scrambling over like their lives depended on it. 

Which, they technically did. 

Allura shoved Sendak onto a plank and left him to fend for himself before turning to assess the damage on her beloved vessel. General battle debris on the main deck, wounded crew, some broken parts. 

“Hm. We’ll have to dock to make some repairs. Shiro, man the helm and steer us to the nearest port. Pidge, go with Hunk to assess hull damages. The rest of you, tidy the deck and resume positions. Romelle-” Allura’s voice softened the slightest bit. “Check the crew for injuries and treat accordingly.” Allura strode to the helm to talk with Shiro.

Lance turned to Keith, both their cutlasses properly sheathed. 

“You came out of  _ nowhere _ ,” Keith awed. “I don’t understand how you do that.” 

Lance shrugged and winced. “Uh, pure talent?” He tried to hide it, but Keith could read him well enough to tell that he was in pain. 

“Lance, did someone get you? Are you hurt?” Keith said, frowning.

“No, No, I-” Lance shifted, revealing a blossom of red across his side. 

“Neptune’s beard, Lance! I told you to stop it with that self-preservation nonsense and tell me if you get injured during battle! Romelle!” He ushered their medic over, who took one glance at the wound and huffed. 

“’s not even that bad, see?” Lance protested. 

“Medbay. Now,” Romelle ordered. 

Lance didn’t have the strength to argue. 

 

A while later, after lots of makeshift gauze and alcohol on his wound, Lance sat uncomfortably on a stiff bunk. Romelle had ushered Keith out the moment she had gotten Lance to sit, insisting he was a distraction to her patient.

Now, Romelle opened the hatch to allow the only visitor Lance really wanted to see. Keith crawled inside and sat next to Lance on the bunk. 

“How’s the side?”

“Fine. Romelle said it’ll heal up on its own. Just a cutlass gash.”

Keith nodded, moving on. “So, Sharpshooter. What was that big plan of yours that caused you to miss the first three quarters of our battle?”

Lance chuckled. “Well, lubber, I was actually lootin’ their medbay for fresh gauze and fun loot. Romelle mentioned earlier that she wanted some. Which was a mistake, by the way, because all they have there is rum and some rusty needles. But, I did find some knockout liquid. Soaked my handkerchief in it and boom, an entire crew of pirates down for the count.”

“You’re a downright scallywag, you are.” Keith teased. 

Lance shrugged. “It worked, didn’ it? And we really showed old seadog Sendak who’s boss.”

Keith screwed up his face. “Do you think he’ll come after us again? We shamed him pretty bad in front of his crew.”

“Eh, probably. But we’ll be waiting with cutlasses drawn to take him on.”

“Aye,” Keith chuckled lovingly. “You’re one selfless bastard.”

“And I’m the only selfless bastard on all seven seas who’ll have ya.”

The two men sat and talked, rocked by the gentle ocean waves, as the crew of the White Lion sailed onward. 

 

xxx

 


End file.
